A tedious 0-0 stalemate masquerading as a 2-2 thriller. Charlton are bottom of the Championship table for shots per game and Blackpool twenty second. You could see why this afternoon. The most remarkable thing about today's game was that two sides which carry no goal threat managed to score four goals between them.
It's no surprise that Bob Peeters wants to play Joe Gomez. Other players in the squad must look at him and think life simply isn't fair. I didn't think he played that well today, but at seventeen it simply shouldn't be possible to have his athleticism, pace, power, technical ability, time on the ball and football brain. He has the potential to be a truly exceptional player.
On the other hand, it was a surprise to see Chris Solly line up in central midfield. Some full backs can make that transition, but Solly has never struck me as likely to be one of them. Based on this afternoon's performance, I haven't revised my opinion. Not his fault. Strange selection.
Peeters can't think much of Bulot.
Solly lined up on the right side of a 4-4-2 Midfield diamond, with Buyens at the base, Cousins on the left and Gudmundsson at the tip, behind Vetokele and Harriott.
Congratulations for working that out because it certainly didn't look like any recognisable formation from where i was sitting.
So today I smashed the phone I bought yesterday jumping around like a loon when cousins scored, saw a last second equaliser and bought my son his first Charlton kit. Tried it on him when I got home, was a bit snug so decided to take it back and get the next size up. He then proceeds to puke up all over it.
Was with Jamie Ohara after the game he was impressed with us said they were over the moon with a point , said we didn't punish enough in the final 3rd but us as fans av said that all season ,Roland go and get us another forward FFS .
Gutted as everyone else, not sure why we are so negative at times, especially when we are at home against teams struggling down the bottom of the league.
Plenty of early optimism for this season but despite spending all of it so far in the right half of the table its just not been an especially enjoyable season to be a Charlton fan.
Come on Bob, lets get our season going again, please.
For those with issues about Pope and Fox, Henderson and Wiggins are back soon...but I've never had a problem with our back five - not this season, nor with the squad of the last three years. Gomez is a star and should be played. Simples! As for our front six? No place for Solly! We missed Coquelin badly - I hope we see him again. Absolutely nothing happening on the left. It needs hard cash applied in January to deliver the results we need to push on. For sure we can appreciate the academy players but we are watching a slide into the wrong half of the table - a slow motion car crash which needs to be addressed.
The championship is not that good and the opponents I've seen lately are poor - Reading, Ipswich, Millwall and Blackpool all poor.
For sure we have decent players coming back soon but the whole club needs to be more aggressive about staking a claim in the top ten and then the top six.
Tell me something negative and a problem with the mechanics with Charlton Athletic Football Club.
Some of you lot need a serious reality check. I for one am actually enjoying not having the constant fear of relegation looming over us and the disaster that would bring. Get a grip.
And you need to get to remove your rose tinted glasses off.
Unfortunately I haven't seen as in the flesh this season so I haven't really formed an opinion on our play or style of play, nor have I been able to post an opinion on performance, the one thing I do know is, that things take time, we need to allow that and allow the mgr in his first season in English mgmt the grace to build,
Things could be a lot worse and let's see what Jan brings
How is he j, was it as bad as I am reading or is it another last min fuck up meaning more negative views than it should
D Jamie is good was with his dad and uncle he is just happy playing again he had a chat with James few pics etc , he is out tonight with the Blackpool players up town Xmas drink and all that , don't blame em Blackpool is shithole , he liked the way we played said we could be in with a shout of play offs but another forward would help good lad whatever people think but mate they don't know wot goes on .
Unfortunately I haven't seen as in the flesh this season so I haven't really formed an opinion on our play or style of play, nor have I been able to post an opinion on performance, the one thing I do know is, that things take time, we need to allow that and allow the mgr in his first season in English mgmt the grace to build,
Things could be a lot worse and let's see what Jan brings
Believe me, if you had been there today, you would have seen that things couldn't have been much worse.
Fanny as usual you make some great points. The loss of Coquelin only yesterday and solly having to play in midfield for the first time, it was always going to be difficult. The main problem is that we create so few chances in matches compared to other teams in the champ. Not an issue earlier in the season when we took a high % of those chances but now we are giving away some soft goals or like at Forrest, some good strikes against us. The misses today and against Millwall late on means we sure don't make it easy for ourselves. Your Right thou FF, we must keep the faith.
We draw more than Rolf Harris who sits in his prison cell all day.
Met him over spuds a few times mate always found him a good lad mate, you never know what happens behind closed doors
Are we just a few players short, or is it deeper than that, the positive for me is that a few seasons ago the result would've been 2-1 loss
Mate for me jacko is a loss regardless wot people say when you lose your skipper its not only about playing you also need talkers he does that in abundance ,for people who av played at a higher level they would understand what I'm saying ,for me solly in midfield don't go even though he did ok another striker is a must if we want to push up The table , also 2 bad goals from Set pieces very poor defending.
Our lack of ambition at 2-1 was criminal. People want to be entertained not sent to sleep. Suddenly at 2-2 we had more entertainment than the previous 90 mins. A lot more forward drive is needed in these home games and if that means going direct so be it. That was an awful game today.
Sounds patchwork team mate, I don't believe for one min that peeters would have thought that was a decent thing to do with solly, losing the gooner lad must have caused a big problem with the tactics and set up, going back on Friday woukdve thrown the whole setup in disarray, i thought he was the best player on show on the tv,
For all the misfortune we aren't losing and are in games
We could be reading fans tonight that must sting, long old season with more highs than lows still to come I think, we are on a poor run of form but seem to not lose games on the bounce, but throw away the position to win too often,
I know when tbh and bikey joined I was worried but they seem to cope well enough, but can't concentrate for the whole game, it was tbh the more accountable for ipswich imo and with his experience you'd think he could learn from the late conceding, there must be nervousness within the squad for the final whistle, if I was coaching against them you'd make it a real focal point
Things will improve, I think Km gets the club and gets Rd the right decisions will be made
5 pts dropped in last 3 home games. Peeters learnt nothing since Millwall. We're conceding late goals as we lose our way in the last quarter. This is due to BP failure to make changes, fresh legs in good time thus allowing opposition to gain the initiative. Problem is team morale will decline if BP doesn't show leadership. What's the point in being on the bench if the manager won't make changes against the worst team in the league!
Don't know what to say really. Am so disappointed with our current style of play. We never seem to push on to go two goals up, seem to be content to try to hang on, and even against Blackpool, it hasn't worked. Can only assume this is on BP's instructions, and if so, am starting to get fed up with him too. In January when my journey becomes even longer due to the wonderful train service getting even worse, am not sure I'll bother. It hurts to say this, as usually I will follow my team however bad the play, but it's so boring! Will end on a positive, good goal from Cousins.
Players make mistakes, especially young ones, and I'm yet to be convinced Fox has it to succeed at this level (I'd have preferred Solly at LB today) but it was the lack of energy and drive that shocked me today. Against Ipswich we played well and deserved the win, whereas today it was painful to watch at times, so slow and unambitious. At 2-1 we had momentum on our side, but instead showed no ambition and frankly got what we deserved.
As for Blackpool, they are recovering from a terrible start to the season, and don't assume that they are certainties for relegation. They have more team spirit than the likes of Brighton for example...
Some of you lot need a serious reality check. I for one am actually enjoying not having the constant fear of relegation looming over us and the disaster that would bring. Get a grip.
And you need to get to remove your rose tinted glasses off.
Could you not have compressed all of your moping into one post?
Gutted as everyone else, not sure why we are so negative at times, especially when we are at home against teams struggling down the bottom of the league.
Plenty of early optimism for this season but despite spending all of it so far in the right half of the table its just not been an especially enjoyable season to be a Charlton fan.
Come on Bob, lets get our season going again, please.
'come on bob' is out of his depth
I want us to go for it at home like most of the crowd, (don't sit back i shouted about 100 times as soon as we went 2-1 up)
But how is Bob Peeters out of his depth when we have lost only 3 matches out of 21 on one of the lowest budgets in the championship? and the CEO said it would be a miracle if we finish in the top half of the table a few months ago.
Another point towards this seasons goal of league survival.
We were clearly the better team (but then Blackpool were the worst team I've seen this season) but we couldn't make it count (again) because we are a poor attacking team and make too many silly mistakes. If points were awarded for quality sideways passing we would be promoted by Christmas, we are outstanding at it. Again today shows that, despite the odd good result, we are not as strong as many on here have chosen to see with their blinkers.
Pope is a decent keeper for his age, and is going to be a great keeper, but unfortunately both goals today were ultimately down to him. But we should have been way ahead of them by their second goal and TBH tackle from behind giving away the free kick was brainless. Fox would have been lambasted repeatedly for such a tackle.
Despite (it pains me to say) Pope, the team played pretty well in the whole and there's no one I can point at and say they were really poor or didn't play up to their realistic ability. They played as well as we should expect them to if we're honest. Especially in some weird formation never played before, at home against a shite away team!
I'm glad some people have tried to point out where Solly was playing today but really, was he? he was across the centre and also right midfield all game as far as I could see. He played well but also looked as though he wasn't sure himself where he was supposed to be playing. And the fact we had a bench full of midfielders and forwards yet they weren't deemed good enough to do a job today in a 4-5-1 (maybe, I still haven't really got a clue what the formation was and you can pretend it was some clever diamond formation all you want but no it wasn't in reality) says a lots about the squad depth and Peeters view of them. And a certain previous manger had to take dogs abuse for being negative and obviously having a "defenders" attitude, and he had a weaker team/squad to chose from. Certain posters seem to not be applying their own previous rules to the current regime!
Am I p'd off with the result? Yes totally. Am I surprised? No. Difficult to be completely annoyed when you've been told that the target for this season is survival. That's fine, I understand that and I don't have a problem with that mentality at the moment. But unfortunately some smash and grabs and a lot of luck has led us simpleton football fans to want to believe we're better than what we really are. Most years we are the same, ah well.
I think that Bob has to shoulder a lot of the blame for that sub-standard and slightly farcical performance. The narrow shape never worked, with Gudmundsson ineffective behind the strikers, a lack of width and a lack of movement on the part of Igor and Harriott. The first half hour was some of the worst football I've seen in a long time and I thought that we were fortunate to go in on terms, as Perkins (aka Boris) and O'Hara had the better of things in midfield.
Blackpool predictably became more disjointed in the second half, as a lot of their players haven't played much football recently. The half meandered on but, slightly out of the blue we got our noses in front. Having done so, Blackpool were absolutely there for the taking but we failed to press home the advantage and adopted a 'take no risks' approach against a team who have only scored 7 goals on the road this season. The blame for that must be laid squarely at Bob's door. There is a weakness in this team's mentality, although it obviously doesn't help when your attacking substitution is the hapless George Tucadean.
Even after we let them back in after Popey's second big error (although where was the marking ?), Bikey contrived to miss an open goal from 10 yards.
If we can't put Blackpool to bed, you have to wonder where the next win is coming from. Very dispiriting and today was one of the low points of the season. The only players to emerge with any real credit were Buyens, Ben Haim, Solly and young Joe Gomez.
Agree with you, Blucher, especially about the comical - even slapstick - episodes, and our weak mentality. After we went 2-1 up we had plenty of forward possession on the forward right flank - yet it was all dissipated by passing backwards to the midfield. That's sensible if it's in the 85th minute, a victory is secured, and we are waving our fedoras: "Ole!, Ole!". But Solly & Co were playing sideways and back when there were still 30 minutes to go.
Playing only one up front at home is asking for trouble. Do we lack confidence, or ambition? Every single Championship club has an academy brimming with talented young players - most of whom can trap the ball and pass accurately. In the first half we had a free-kick on the edge of the Blackpool box: cheers from the crowd. The ball was placed precisely, the players meticulously arranged. A bit of jostling; the ref warned them. Wait, wait... The whole stadium fell silent. Then our man breathed in and out, ran up - and hoofed it in to Row Z.
Kermorgant scored with a scissors-kick after two minutes at Bournemouth a fortnight ago. We have a multi-millionaire owner - and he doesn't appreciate the beauty and skill of good football.
Comments
Chris Solly playing on the left side of midfield.
Richard Murray tell somebody that is like 'super Clive' playing as goalkeeper.
What the **** is going on at SE7?!
#shouldhavestayedinbed
Things could be a lot worse and let's see what Jan brings
The loss of Coquelin only yesterday and solly having to play in midfield for the first time,
it was always going to be difficult. The main problem is that we create so few chances in matches
compared to other teams in the champ. Not an issue earlier in the season when we took a high % of those chances
but now we are giving away some soft goals or like at Forrest, some good strikes against us.
The misses today and against Millwall late on means we sure don't make it easy for ourselves.
Your Right thou FF, we must keep the faith.
We draw more than Rolf Harris who sits in his prison cell all day.
Are we just a few players short, or is it deeper than that, the positive for me is that a few seasons ago the result would've been 2-1 loss
The table , also 2 bad goals from
Set pieces very poor defending.
Our lack of ambition at 2-1 was criminal. People want to be entertained not sent to sleep. Suddenly at 2-2 we had more entertainment than the previous 90 mins. A lot more forward drive is needed in these home games and if that means going direct so be it. That was an awful game today.
For all the misfortune we aren't losing and are in games
We could be reading fans tonight that must sting, long old season with more highs than lows still to come I think, we are on a poor run of form but seem to not lose games on the bounce, but throw away the position to win too often,
I know when tbh and bikey joined I was worried but they seem to cope well enough, but can't concentrate for the whole game, it was tbh the more accountable for ipswich imo and with his experience you'd think he could learn from the late conceding, there must be nervousness within the squad for the final whistle, if I was coaching against them you'd make it a real focal point
Things will improve, I think Km gets the club and gets Rd the right decisions will be made
We're conceding late goals as we lose our way in the last quarter.
This is due to BP failure to make changes, fresh legs in good time thus
allowing opposition to gain the initiative.
Problem is team morale will decline if BP doesn't show leadership.
What's the point in being on the bench if the manager won't make changes against
the worst team in the league!
As for Blackpool, they are recovering from a terrible start to the season, and don't assume that they are certainties for relegation. They have more team spirit than the likes of Brighton for example...
I want us to go for it at home like most of the crowd, (don't sit back i shouted about 100 times as soon as we went 2-1 up)
But how is Bob Peeters out of his depth when we have lost only 3 matches out of 21 on one of the lowest budgets
in the championship? and the CEO said it would be a miracle if we finish in the top half of the table a few months ago.
Igor had a poor game by his standards-unable to hold the ball enough. Would have subbed him instead of Harriott.
The "final ball" from any of them was rarely successful, which was frustrating to watch.
But much prefer the passing style of this season to the dour hoof ball used much of last season.
We were clearly the better team (but then Blackpool were the worst team I've seen this season) but we couldn't make it count (again) because we are a poor attacking team and make too many silly mistakes. If points were awarded for quality sideways passing we would be promoted by Christmas, we are outstanding at it.
Again today shows that, despite the odd good result, we are not as strong as many on here have chosen to see with their blinkers.
Pope is a decent keeper for his age, and is going to be a great keeper, but unfortunately both goals today were ultimately down to him. But we should have been way ahead of them by their second goal and TBH tackle from behind giving away the free kick was brainless. Fox would have been lambasted repeatedly for such a tackle.
Despite (it pains me to say) Pope, the team played pretty well in the whole and there's no one I can point at and say they were really poor or didn't play up to their realistic ability. They played as well as we should expect them to if we're honest. Especially in some weird formation never played before, at home against a shite away team!
I'm glad some people have tried to point out where Solly was playing today but really, was he? he was across the centre and also right midfield all game as far as I could see. He played well but also looked as though he wasn't sure himself where he was supposed to be playing. And the fact we had a bench full of midfielders and forwards yet they weren't deemed good enough to do a job today in a 4-5-1 (maybe, I still haven't really got a clue what the formation was and you can pretend it was some clever diamond formation all you want but no it wasn't in reality) says a lots about the squad depth and Peeters view of them. And a certain previous manger had to take dogs abuse for being negative and obviously having a "defenders" attitude, and he had a weaker team/squad to chose from. Certain posters seem to not be applying their own previous rules to the current regime!
Am I p'd off with the result? Yes totally. Am I surprised? No. Difficult to be completely annoyed when you've been told that the target for this season is survival. That's fine, I understand that and I don't have a problem with that mentality at the moment. But unfortunately some smash and grabs and a lot of luck has led us simpleton football fans to want to believe we're better than what we really are. Most years we are the same, ah well.
Agree with you, Blucher, especially about the comical - even slapstick - episodes, and our weak mentality. After we went 2-1 up we had plenty of forward possession on the forward right flank - yet it was all dissipated by passing backwards to the midfield. That's sensible if it's in the 85th minute, a victory is secured, and we are waving our fedoras: "Ole!, Ole!". But Solly & Co were playing sideways and back when there were still 30 minutes to go.
Playing only one up front at home is asking for trouble. Do we lack confidence, or ambition? Every single Championship club has an academy brimming with talented young players - most of whom can trap the ball and pass accurately. In the first half we had a free-kick on the edge of the Blackpool box: cheers from the crowd. The ball was placed precisely, the players meticulously arranged. A bit of jostling; the ref warned them. Wait, wait... The whole stadium fell silent. Then our man breathed in and out, ran up - and hoofed it in to Row Z.
Kermorgant scored with a scissors-kick after two minutes at Bournemouth a fortnight ago. We have a multi-millionaire owner - and he doesn't appreciate the beauty and skill of good football.